It’s not the note you play that’s the wrong note – it’s the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.
— Miles Davis
This week will be different.
Fair warning to the reader: this week I am not talking about myself and how I made myself happy. At least not in a way that I’ve approached it up until this moment. Happiness is complicated, and in this case pain, sadness, discomfort, and shame are all necessary to feel first.
Pain, Sadness, Discomfort, and Shame
On Monday May 25, 2020, George Floyd, an African-American man from North Carolina, was murdered by police during an arrest in Minneapolis. Protests in response to his death, police violence against people of colour, and systematic racism in the U.S. have since spread across the globe.
In the weeks that followed, many white people and allies made the decision to temporarily remove their voices from public discourse and instead, to amplify the voices of people of colour. This week, I have done the same.
Refocus
There is an uncomfortable and insidious side-effect of the “self-care” movement; a movement that has provided most of the raw material for this project. Self-care is undeniably important, but without critical reflection it can go from necessary mental health care to a justification for ignoring or minimizing how your actions (or inactions) impact those around you. Certainly put on your own oxygen mask before helping the person next to you. Undoubtedly you cannot pour from an empty cup. But sometimes, if we are able, we need to set aside our own lives for a moment and use our minds and our voices in service of those around us. We need to set aside our privilege. I need to set aside my privilege, and for a moment at least, set aside the concern for my own happiness. That’s what I did this week. I acknowledged my privilege. I acknowledged the very same privilege that gives me the space, time, and wherewithal to focus so intently on my own happiness. I can worry about being happy while others worry about staying alive.
Being uncomfortable is good when reality is uncomfortable. Being unhappy is the correct response to brutality, shame, terror, inequality, and discrimination. But being unhappy isn’t enough. Sit in that discomfort and unhappiness. And then do something about it.
This week I set aside my own words and my own thoughts and used my space, as big or small as it may be, to amplify other voices. The social and political systems of this world are set so that I, a white person, benefit from the art, culture, voices, bodies, and lives of people of colour. This one-sided relationship is no longer acceptable. In the spirit of discovering new music, I will pass the microphone over to the voices of the brilliant, the creative, the sorrowful, the amazing.
Thank you this week to Miles Davis, Redbone, Childish Gambino, Kendrick Lamar, Lizzo, Tanika Charles, and TiKA.
Music from the U.S.
Kind of Blue – Miles Davis (1959)
Miles Davis (1926-1991) is one of the most influential figures in the history of jazz and of 20th-century music as a whole. This album, Kind of Blue, is cited by critics as the greatest jazz record and one of the best albums of all time. It appears on most lists of the best music ever recorded and it is an album that everyone should listen to at least once.
In His Own Words:
“If you understood everything I said, you’d be me.”
“Man, sometimes it takes you a long time to sound like yourself.”
“Don’t play what’s there; play what’s not there.”
“Knowledge is freedom and ignorance is slavery.”
“It’s not about standing still and becoming safe. If anybody wants to keep creating they have to be about change.”
“It’s not the note you play that’s the wrong note – it’s the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.”
Wovoka – Redbone (1973)
Redbone is a rock band formed in Los Angeles in the 1960’s by two Native American* brothers, Pat and Lolly Vegas. Over their history, other members of the group included Tony Bellamy, Pete De Poe, Arturo Perez, Butch Rillera, Aloisio Aguilar, and Thunderhand Joe. “Redbone” is a Cajun term for “mixed-raced person”, which the band adopted to signify their mixed ancestry, including Cherokee, Yaquis, Apaches, and Shoshones. The album name, Wovoka, means “wood cutter” in the Northern Paiute language.
In Their Own Words:
“Liquid Truth”
“Many moons in history, when the world was red
Indians drank from the river, cleared and stilled his head
Then the foreigner’s footsteps echoed through the land
Preaching hollow promise, telling lie on lie
Guns will bring you power
Drink will cure your ills
Put your faith in Jesus
Give your soul to me
Take another look or face the liquid truth”
*While this term may not be considered culturally appropriate in certain contexts, I’ve used this description because “Native American” is a term used widely in the U.S. by Indigenous peoples, and by the group on their official website.
3.15.20 – Childish Gambino (2020)
Childish Gambino (Donald Glover) is an actor, comedian, writer, producer, director, musician, and DJ. Dean Van Nguyen of The Guardian wrote that with this album, titled 3.15.20, Glover “made the first truly outstanding album of the decade, offsetting cultural examinations with moments of sweet levity.”
In His Own Words:
“Everyone is an addict, stumbling concrete
“Algorithm”
What was the motivation? Constant communication
Everybody wanna get chose like Moses
Came out mother earth smelling like roses
Summon the new edition, made it way too efficient
Made us the guinea pig and did it with no permission”
DAMN. – Kendrick Lamar (2017)
Kendrick Lamar is a rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He has been described as one of the most influential artists of his generation and one of the greatest rappers of all time. In 2018, the album DAMN. became the first non-jazz or classical work to earn the Pulitzer Prize for Music and won the Best Rap Album at the Grammy Awards. In 2016, Time named Lamar one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
In His Own Words:
“But you have to understand this man, that we are a cursed people
“Fear”
Deuteronomy 28:28 says
“The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness
And astonishment of heart.”
See family that’s why you feel like
You feel like you got a chip on your shoulder
Until you finally get the memo, you will always feel that way
Why God, why God do I gotta suffer?
Pain in my heart carry burdens full of struggle
Why God, why God do I gotta bleed?
Every stone thrown at you restin’ at my feet
Why God, why God do I gotta suffer?
Earth is no more, why don’t you burn this mufucka?”
Cuz I Love You – Lizzo (2019)
Lizzo (Melissa Viviane Jefferson) is a singer, rapper, songwriter, and flutist. She is praised for her body positivity and self confidence. She has been known to give credit to the internet for helping change the narrative around size by giving visibility to all bodies. Lizzo also speaks openly about her mental health and its impact on her career.
In Her Own Words:
“Black, white, ebony
“Better in Color”
All sound good to me
Two tone recipe
Got good chemistry
J. F. Kennedy’s
Kiss hood celebrities
Don’t matter to me
‘Cause I like everything”
Music from Canada
The Gumption – Tanika Charles (2019)
Tanika Charles is a soul and rhythm and blues singer who was born in Toronto to Trinidadian parents. The album The Gumption marries classic soul with modern production styles and speaks of “vindication, uncertain love, forbidden fruit and the state of the world today”. Charles writes “It’s not about feeling guilty about being up front, not being afraid to address situations that aren’t comfortable to me. I’m comfortable in my skin now in a way I never was before.”
In Her Own Words:
“Starting with me, I’m starting with me
“Upside Down”
Look in the mirror and what do I see
You are who you are, they say that’s not the thing to be
Work twice as hard for half the opportunity
I look to the heavens would you show me the key
Can’t empathize with those who don’t show it to me
I’m done compromising I need change
At every scale in every way”
Carry On – TiKA (2016)
TiKA (TiKA the Creator, TiKA Simone) is a R&B artist, DJ, model, film composer, actor, creator, cultural producer, TV/Online personality, activist, and advocate based out of Toronto. TiKA has spoken openly about her struggles with trauma and depression and uses her art to encourage others who are going through the same. She believes in the power of music and hopes that her music will help her listeners find peace within themselves.
In Her Own Words:
“If they only knew I tucked my feelings deep inside,
“Carry On”
If they only knew I had these demons in my mind
And when I get home at night I cry to the moon and stars
That they would understand me,
So I could carry on”
How to Be Happy 